"Regrettably, it is clear that parental consent for the samples was not sought at the time.

"I do not know the dates of the rules and regulations - but I am pretty sure in the 1950s doctors would have just said the research was all for the best and the samples could just be taken."

After being incinerated, the bones were analysed for the radioactive isotope strontium-90 - a dangerous product of nuclear fission that the body will absorb into the bones in a very similar way to that of calcium.

The spokesman said the research, carried out in Glasgow and Woolwich, south-east London, led to the end of nuclear weapons testing as it emerged how dangerous the fallout could be.

We need a law that says if you touch our children without our knowledge or consent you will go to jail

Scottish Parents for a Public Inquiry into Organ Retention

"It did become clear that the level was rising very quickly between the start of the programme and about 1964," he said.

A spokeswoman for Scottish Parents for a Public Inquiry into Organ Retention said the revelation was "devastating". She added: "This is only the tip of the iceberg.

"There are so many projects like this and we have no idea how many.

"Parents up until now have had no say in anything that has been done to their children after death. They felt that their children's bodies did not belong to them."

She added: "We need a law that says if you touch our children without our knowledge or consent you will go to jail."

Lancaster MP Hilton Dawson is calling for a full inquiry into reports that the Royal Lancaster Infirmary was involved in the research project between 1955 and 1971.